We are three 25 year olds and are planning a 21 day trip to Scandinavia in August.We have about 6 - 7 days in Finland.

Was thinking of the following itinerary

Day 1: Take ferry from Stockholm to Marianhamna. Spend the day there and take night ferry to Turku
Day 2: Spend day in Turku and take night train to Rovaniemi
Day 3: Spend the day in Rovaniemi and take night train to Helsinki
Day 4: Spend day in Helsinki
Day 5: Maybe take a trip to Imarta/ Lapperanta/ Savolina
Day 6: Helsinki


Was wondering if the itinerary is too aggressive or is it doable ? Are Imarta/ Lapperanta/ Savolina worth visiting ? Should we spend more time in Rovaniemi ?

Why Rovaniemi? It is like planning to take one day trip from Helsinki to Minsk or Moscow. Travelling two days in train to speand one day somewhere just doesn´t make sense. I would say the same about Lappeenranta/Imatra. Also that is almost 5 hours in train one way. But yes, they are worth visiting. Particularly Savonlinna is quite charming in summer. There is a medieval castle on an island, and it hosts a big opera festival every summer. I think it is still going on in the beginning of August. Makes the little town very lively.

I just might add that there is no night train Turku-Rovaniemi. Night trains leave from Helsinki. One day in every place you see nothing. Let alone experoence nothing.

Is Rovaniemi worth the travel ? The Eurail timetable does show a night train from Turku to Rovaniemi

Maybe I could make these changes to the itinerary

Day 1: Marianhamna and ferry to Helsinki
Day 2: Spend day in Helsinki and take night train to Rovaniemi
Day 3: Spend the day in Rovaniemi
Day 4: Spend day in Rovaniemi and night train to Helsinki
Day 5: Helsinki
Day 6: Maybe take a trip to Imarta/ Lapperanta/ Savolina
Day 7: Helsinki

What would you do in Rovaniemi? There is a good museum Arktikum, but otherwise it is just an ordinary small town. It is all built after world war II because Germans burnt it to the ground during the war, not a single building was left standing.

If you insist on seeing a small Finnish town there are many more near to Helsinki than Rovaniemi. A popular one is Porvoo about 60 kilometres from Helsinki. There is an old wooden center that is not a museum, people live in those ancient houses. Same for Rauma on the western coast. Its old wood-built center is the largest in the Nordic countries and it is on UNESCO´s World Heritage list.

I checked the railway timetables. You are righr, there is a train Turku-Rovaniemi. But it is not a night train, it leaves Turku at 7 in the morning.

Then I think we will totally skip Rovaniemi and spend more time around Helsinki and in Norway.Is there any other place in the Artic Circle worth going to ?

There are 2 night trains from Turku one at 20:05 (change at Tampere) and 21:05 which is direct.

Arctic circle is just a line on the map. And yes, there are many gorgeous places in Lapland, but Lapland is further north from the Arctic Circle, and people don´t go there just for a day. They go for a week or two, or a long weekened if they fly. Lapland is about nature, people do long skiing treks or walks or reindeer safaris and such. And live in log cabins and enjoy being away from it all.

I guess we don't have that much time so will have to save it for another time. Thanks a lot for your inputs...

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I am currently planning my trip to Finland and am definitely going to the Savonlinna Opera Festival and the falls at Imatra. I am thinking about going whitewater rafting at the Russian border.

Since I will be in Finland for 4 weeks, I might go up to Lapland for about 3 days. I will have a car.

I have a home exchange in Lahti, Finland. I will finish the trip with a few days in Helsinki with a side trip to Tallin, Estonia.

Mostly I do day trips centered on the location of my home exchange. Lahti is on a lake and I plan to take advantage of the location there.

A friend and I were in Lapiranta(sp?) in the late 70s and didn't find it to be anything special. We went for a day, from Helsinki. We went because we had been doing Scandinavian Studies at university and decided to go to a lot of different places.

I wish I had gone deep into Lapland as I had done complete studies in Lappish culture at that point. What I liked most, in Helsinki, was spending two days at the Serrasari (sp?) museum and also shopping at Marrimeko. Smiles. I found the museum especially interesting. My professor, from my university, here in L..A., met us there and we walked through it and went over all of the different structures that we'd studied. It was like taking our final exam over again. Smiles. Have fun. Happy Travels!

I will make a note about that museum.

It is so unusual to sse posts about off the beaten track in Europe, as most Americans never get there. I do feel fortunate that home exchanging has made it financially possible to take so many interesting trips.

I think it would be better if You go from Rovaniemi straight to Imatra/Lappeenranta/Savonlinna and then to Helsinki. It is propably much cheaper this way..